Motor vehicles having retarders as a hydrodynamic brake are known, where a distinction is made between primary and secondary retarders: primary retarders are located on the engine side of the drive train, and secondary retarders are located on the gearbox side. Secondary retarders are flanged to the gearbox or are integrated into the gearbox housing, and are driven by the output shaft of the gearbox via a step-up stage. It is also known to equip gearboxes with a connection for a power take-off drive, where it can be operated as a clutch-dependent connection, i.e., the connection for the operating the power take-off drive can be taken into operation when the internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle runs and the clutch between the internal combustion engine and the gearbox is engaged.
A motor vehicle gearbox having a hydrodynamic retarder is known from the applicant's document DE 101 56 186 A, where the retarder is connected to the output shaft of the gearbox via an angle drive. The disclosed gearbox comprises a drive shaft, a main shaft, and two countershafts, where the drawing shows a further shaft in extension of the upper countershaft that can be considered as a drive shaft for a power take-off drive.
The applicant's document DE 41 08 658 A1 discloses a motor vehicle gearbox having a hydrodynamic retarder which is driven by the output shaft of the gearbox via a spur gear stage, of a so-called step-up stage.